


After Zero Hour

by Chronomorphosis



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Outbound Flight - Timothy Zahn, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Art, M/M, Season/Series 03 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-10 22:55:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10449426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chronomorphosis/pseuds/Chronomorphosis
Summary: "To say that Thrawn was livid was an understatement."Set immediately after the events of Rebels season 3 episode “Zero Hour”, but something different happens to Kallus. Lots of talking. A little fluff. Heavy references to the old Expanded Universe canon in preference over Disney's new canon.





	

 

To say that Thrawn was livid was an understatement. Returning to the _Chimaera,_ he had immediately demanded Governor Pryce's presence in his war room, and once present he had closed the door to the rest of his command staff. They had heard no shouting from the other side, no heated exchange of words. No, when the Grand Admiral was this angry he got quiet.

Very, very quiet.

Within ten minutes of entering the war room, the doors opened again and Governor Pryce emerged, red-faced and tight-lipped and marching stiffly past the bridge. Grand Admiral Thrawn followed, standing on the deck of the bridge with hands clasped at the small of his back. The stares of his command staff riveted on him as he spoke, barely above a whisper.

“Governor Pryce no longer has command of my Seventh Fleet. She will remain aboard the _Chimaera_ until we are finished with the clean-up and analytics from this battle, and then she will be returned to Lothal's Capital City. In the mean time, we have a lot of work to do. I expect - ”

One of the techs at a monitoring station suddenly rose from his seat. “Grand Admiral, sir – I apologize for interrupting but scanners just picked up a life pod in the wreckage! It has one life sign, and is broadcasting an encrypted signal.”

Thrawn's eyebrows shot up. “Tractor beam. I want identification immediately – which ship did it originate from?”

The tech tapped a few keys at his station, concentrating on the task at hand. A quiet intake of breath, and he turned to face the Grand Admiral, surprise written all over his face. “Sir – it's... it's one of the _Chimaera's_ own.”

 

**************

 

With sinking spirits, Kallus watched the star destroyer home in on his position, and a moment later he felt the shudder through the hull that signified a tractor beam had locked on to the small life pod. He had been trying in vain to hail the rebel fleet, but his signal had come too late. As soon as he had gotten his transmitter in frequency, the last of the rebel ships had made the jump to hyperspace.

The tractor beam dragged him inexorably closer to the _Chimaera_ , back to where he had just tried to escape from. The tiny ship was pulled into the hangar bay, and through the porthole Kallus could see a full contingent of stormtroopers amassed outside. Thrawn himself was waiting with them, and Governor Pryce trailed behind, hanging back and looking for all the world like an angry, beaten Kath hound.

Kallus sighed as the stormtroopers worked to pry the hatch of the life pod open from the other side, knowing that going down in a fight here would accomplish nothing. He steeled himself as the door was forcibly ripped open with a shower of sparks, and he met the glittering red gaze of his former commanding officer.

“Ah, Agent Kallus. Welcome back.” Thrawn stepped up to the threshold as a pair of stormtroopers bypassed him to grab hold of Kallus's arms. “It seems I did not leave enough security to supervise you. The oversight will not reoccur.”

Kallus was dragged from the pod and surrounded by a dozen other troopers. Thrawn turned to their commander and gestured once at Kallus. “Hold him in our most secure cell. Unless it comes directly from me, I want no less than six pairs of eyes on him at all times. Triple security in the detention center, and...” he eyed Kallus from head to foot, “And have him tended to. His injuries are still untreated. I will come question him myself once I complete reports of the battle.”

The troopers began to move off, dragging Kallus with them. Thrawn turned to the rest of his men still in the hangar bay. “I must make a transmission to Governor Tarkin and the Emperor, and inform them of what has happened here today. I am not to be disturbed unless necessary. Governor Pryce, why are you still here? Should you not be preparing to return to Capital City?” He didn't bother waiting for her response, simply turned and swept from the hangar bay.

 

**************

 

The detention cells were poorly lit by default, allowing prisoners to stew in the dim shadows and wallow in their despair as a part of the softening-up before real interrogation began. In cell block 44, the squad of stormtroopers had parted quickly to allow Thrawn entrance, and they keyed off the cameras at a word. Thrawn ducked past the threshold of Kallus's cell and allowed his glowing eyes the short moment they needed to adjust to the darkness.

Kallus was seated on the hard bench at the back of the cell, half naked and covered in bruises and burns that Thrawn hadn't recalled inflicting when he had confronted his former agent in the abandoned communications tower on Lothal.

He crossed the distance between them in four easy strides, coming to loom over Kallus. Reaching out a hand to tilt his chin to the side and get a better look at a particularly nasty bruise running across Kallus's clavicle, he frowned. “I see they have not tended you as ordered. And where did you get _these_?”

Kallus slapped away Thrawn's hand, scowling up at him. “Don't act _surprised_ , Thrawn, you're not any good at it. But Governor Pryce is a little less creative with her interrogations than I would have thought, considering her _enthusiasm_ for the job.”

Kallus flinched reflexively when Thrawn's eyes narrowed, but he didn't strike him. His voice was unusually quiet as he spoke. “Governor Pryce. How... interesting. She has already been dismissed from use of my fleet, and yet she goes out of her way to act outside her authority and torture a prisoner.” He drew his comlink from his pocket and thumbed it on. “Commander – find Pryce and instruct her to join me in cell 4465. I have a question for our Governor.”

 

It was less than ten minutes later when Pryce came into the cell with a pair of stormtroopers as an escort, her face frozen in a carefully crafted absence of expression. “You sent for me, Grand Admiral?”

The hard line of Thrawn's mouth drew thin, and he indicated Kallus with a gesture. “What is this?”

Pryce's eyes flicked over to Kallus for a brief second before fastening back on Thrawn. “It is standard Imperial procedure to interrogate - ”

“It is standard Imperial procedure to follow orders, Governor.” His voice was deadly quiet.

“It is _also_ standard Imperial procedure, _Grand Admiral_ , to - ”

“Governor Pryce, I do not know what you think you were doing, but I was very explicit that Agent Kallus be _treated_ for his injuries, not have them compounded upon.” He turned abruptly from Pryce and pointed at the stormtrooper beside her. “Escort Governor Pryce to her shuttle immediately. She is to leave the _Chimaera_ with a TIE escort down to Capital City on Lothal without delay. Thank you commander, dismissed.”

The trooper nodded and ushered Pryce away, the door to the detention cell closing behind her before she could protest. Thrawn glanced once back at Kallus before gesturing to the remaining trooper. “Apparently I cannot trust the care of a high-risk prisoner to anyone else. I will take Agent Kallus into my personal custody; no one else is to handle him without explicit orders and confirmation directly from me. Triple the guard around my private quarters and the war room, I will take care of all other security concerns myself.”

 

**************

 

Kallus found himself in spacious quarters, seated on a comfortable couch and surrounded by paintings, sculptures, and holographic works of art from a hundred different worlds. Thrawn had drawn a footrest up close in front of him, and currently sat there with an open medkit by his side, patiently applying a salve to a cut over Kallus's eyebrow.

“Hold still, please.”

Kallus obediently complied, his confusion already at the breaking point and showing no signs of abating. “Half of my injuries aren't from the interrogation, you know. You inflicted most of these yourself back on Lothal.”

“I know.” Thrawn dabbed a bit more of the salve over the cut before gently applying a bandage over it. “But force was needed to subdue you. That doesn't mean I ever intended on leaving you untreated.” He pulled Kallus's arm away from his torso and lightly brushed fingers over his side. “This bruise over your ribs, does it hurt disproportionately when pressure is applied? I need to know if anything is broken.”

Kallus resisted the urge to flinch away from Thrawn and shook his head. “Nothing's broken.”

“Good.” Thrawn nodded, more to himself than to Kallus, and continued dressing the other man's injuries. A different salve was applied to the bruised skin, and as he worked Thrawn _hmm_ ed softly under his breath. “Tell me, Kallus... what shook your faith in the Empire so much that you fell to defecting to the Rebellion?”

The tension thickened palpably in the air. “I will not cooperate with any interrogation, Thrawn. I - ”

“This is not an interrogation, Agent Kallus.” Thrawn held up a hand to stave off any further protest. “I simply wish to understand how you came to be in the position you find yourself in now. I am not asking for names, locations, strategy, or method, simply the reasoning behind your actions.”

Kallus sighed in frustration. “You couldn't _possibly_ understand.”

“Oh? Why?”

He didn't respond. A frown crossed Kallus's face, and he just stared down at the floor.

“Hn. Agent Kallus, if you believe that I will refuse to acknowledge the atrocities that the Empire commits and the suffering it has caused, then you are wrong.”

Kallus's head shot up in surprise to stare at Thrawn, but he didn't say anything.

“But there is something you must realize, Agent Kallus. There are greater things at risk and higher stakes than you could begin to know about. The galaxy desperately needs a united front, and a powerful force behind it, to repel a coming threat so great that otherwise it could engulf the entire galaxy. The Emperor knows of it, but only because I told him.”

He sighed. “My own people were the first to hear whispers of a gathering menace from outside of our isolated little cluster of stars. But the Chiss Ascendancy is far too interested in their own isolation, too caught up in their own private elitism to acknowledge the threat. If I was to protect them, to protect this galaxy that is home to both the Ascendancy and the Empire, I was to do it without my people's support. I was exiled for my... unconventional and non-traditional approach, so I was forced to look elsewhere. When I first was exposed to the rest of the galaxy apart from my own people, it was still the Republic. But they were weak, splintered, and focused in too many directions to form any sort of unity that could hold itself together. So I waited. The Republic imploded in on itself, and from its ashes rose the Empire.”

Kallus snorted. “I am familiar with history, Grand Admiral. You needn't remind me where the Empire came from.”

Thrawn nodded, wan smile flashing briefly over his face. “Then I needn't remind you also that the Empire, for all its faults and horrors, is a strong united front with a powerful military presence. And is the only hope the galaxy has of repelling this gathering threat. Which is why I came to the Emperor and joined him.” He let his gaze wander to a piece of scrap metal, set upon a pedestal in the corner of the room. It was adorned with the _Ghost_ crew's symbol of the phoenix, undoubtedly spray-painted by Sabine Wren. “And this Rebellion that you so nobly joined? They call themselves the 'Alliance to Restore the Republic'. They wish a return to the Old Republic, the old ways of doing things, and with it all its inefficient squabbling and useless self-importance. Were they actually strong enough and capable enough of being even sufficiently organized, to form the force of power this galaxy needs, then I would naturally back them. But they do not, nor will they in the future, and I fear we are running low on time.”

Alarmed, Kallus's eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

Thrawn didn't answer immediately, instead he fished another dab of salve out of its container and carefully applied it to a particularly nasty bruise over Kallus's left shoulder. “...I honestly do not know how much time we have before this gathering threat breaks into our midst. It may be tomorrow – it may be years. But it is coming, and will come upon us abruptly and without warning, to be sure. But I am preparing for that threat with all the resources I have at my disposal, as quickly as I am able. We cannot afford to be caught unprepared, and I am desperate to avoid that at all costs.”

Thrawn paused for a moment, then nodded as if to affirm something both to himself and to Kallus. “If I need to be ruthless to achieve that, then so be it. I care not whether the history of the galaxy writes me as a hero or a monster. I only care that there will _be_ a galaxy to even _have_ that history. I can hope for nothing else.”

Kallus watched Thrawn's hands in silence as he finished applying the last of the salve. Thrawn's words were full of conviction, and even putting all of his intensive training as an ISB operative into analyzing what Thrawn had said, Kallus couldn't find any evidence that he was attempting a lie.

Thrawn carefully ran a hand over the arm he had finished treating. “Does anything else hurt? Anything I missed?”

Kallus shook his head, resolutely staring at the floor.

Another fleeting smile crossed Thrawn's face and he gently tilted Kallus's chin up to make eye contact. “What are you thinking right now?”

“I...” Kallus shrugged and tried not to retreat from Thrawn's hand. “I have never heard of such information of an outside threat before. So how could I possibly make my decisions about the Rebellion based on such knowledge? The only things I have known are the things that I had believed about the Empire before my defection, and what I have more recently witnessed.”

Thrawn nodded. “I concede the point. What did the Empire do that caused you to lose such faith in it? It takes great loyalty and fortitude to be included in the ISB after all, and that is not something so easily shaken.”

Kallus started to say something, hesitated, then resumed staring at the floor. Indeed it _was_ difficult to shake the conviction of an ISB officer. It had taken years, in his case. How was he to explain a million tiny things, small decisions, isolated events that individually meant nothing? How was he to explain that the unanticipated kindness and warmth of an alien rebel on a frigid world had affected him like no amount of logic or loyalty could?

Thrawn slid from his seat on the footrest across from Kallus to sit on the couch next to him, cocking his head to one side. His voice grew unexpectedly soft. “What happened?”

Kallus heaved a sigh, although this time more in weariness than frustration. “There... There was a time I was stranded...”

 

It took Kallus the better part of an hour to talk about his encounter with Garazeb Orrelios, the massacre on Lasan, and a dozen other moments of doubt. About the bravery and camaraderie he had seen among the rebels. Thrawn took it all in, never interrupting, and nodded in understanding as Kallus struggled with his words. And when Kallus ran out of words, Thrawn just sat there for a moment before he spoke, processing all he had just heard.

“...I do admire them, you know, as you do. This rebel cell. They are certainly noble and selfless in what they are doing, their belief in their cause is powerful.”

Kallus waited for the _'however...'_ that was bound to follow, but the silence between them stretched into minutes. Thrawn just sat quietly, watching him.

“...What happens now?” Kallus shifted awkwardly under Thrawn's glowing eyes.

A frown flickered over Thrawn's face. “Hm.” He carefully reached a hand up to tuck a stray lock of hair from Kallus's face. “I think...” he said slowly, “That partially depends on you. But I recently made a transmission to Governor Tarkin and the Emperor, informing them of this... current situation. I have been given custody of you and they feel that whatever I decide about your fate will be acceptable. Lord Vader and Governor Tarkin are once again taking personal command of dealing with the... 'rebel situation', and I will be returning to the Unknown Regions with the _Chimaera_ and the Seventh Fleet. I intend on taking you with me.”

His faint smile returned. “And perhaps, once there, I could show you an alternate future to the Empire, a different direction, of a sort. One that extends... shall we say... from a different hand.”

[ ](http://captainmazzic.tumblr.com/post/158844026260/after-zero-hour-fandom-star-wars-rebels-word)

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Empire of the Hand reference! Get it? Get it? I'm so clever.


End file.
